DHEC Public Health Informatics, Enterprise GIS and PHIN Related Activities

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control(DHEC) has taken the process of systems integration and Public Health Informatics very seriously as it relates to the development of all agency systems.  The agency has created an Informatics Committee that meets twice a month to discuss the design, development, implementation, and integration of systems agency-wide to promote standards-based, non-redundant, cross functional systems which promote efficient decision making. There has been a long agency history related to IT/IS consolidation and standardization well before PHIN standards were in place but the PHIN initiative by the CDC helped provide the impetus to refocus agency efforts.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have played a large role in this integration process, which has resulted in routine daily use public health system infrastructure being used to develop and deploy infrequently used specialized Bioterrorism and Emergency Response systems. GIS has helped make this integration possible by leveraging the one common component of every agency dataset, geography. This strategy of dual-use and joint-funded systems provides a very efficient use of limited funds and safety net to hedge against ever-changing budgets while also providing the agency with stable and reliable systems that are used on a daily basis rather than just in a crisis situation.

This presentation will cover the current state of many agency systems including the state ESAR-VHP, NEDSS, HAN, Vital Records, and many others along with how those systems are integrated and enhanced with GIS.  PHIN compliance and efforts will be addressed throughout and related projects will be presented.  A central focus will be the virtual architecture of many of these systems and how that promotes data security and enhanced analysis, visualization, and reporting capabilities.